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Revival of Little Miss Sunshine ('72 510) Found a 280zx hub


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Before I begin I would like to mention that this car was put together by another member, strang3majka. He bought the car in January, and spent the next three months researching, installing, and fabricating to make this car work. Without him this would still be in many pieces. So I wanted to pursue his same passion and enthusiasm by finishing the small details of paint and body work to the exterior. If you want to see how this car began it's journey in PA follow the link below:

 

Hello Ratsun and dimer fans!

 

http://community.rat...-miss-sunshine/

 

This is my 1972 Datsun PL 510 nicknamed "Little Miss Sunshine." I plan on fixing the rough spots where rust is pretty bad, and give her a quality respray. But right now I'm in the midst of a KA24 swap and trying to get the car back on the road.

 

Here's when I first picked her up from Mr.BOHICA

 

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Day 1: Inspection/TO DO list

 

This afternoon I decided to go down to the car and go over some of the issues with the car. The majority of the rust is located in the rear section of the car, mainly in both quarter panels and the trunk floor. I received a trunk floor to replace the rusted spare tire area along with some other pieces.

 

Other concerns are the brakes and suspension. Hopefully I will be able to make some custom coilovers for the rear, and find 280zx front struts and brakes to improve the performance. After I install the gas pedal and throttle cable I should be up and running to go for a test drive.

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Day 2: Ordering Parts

 

ordered some much needed parts.

- New Drum Hardware kit

- New Wheel Cylinders

- New Lug Nuts

 

and to make my custom coilover setup

- New '91 Camaro Rear Shocks

- eBay Honda Civic coilover kit

 

I just found 280ZX front struts for sale on eBay, but I have to see if the seller will ship them instead of asking for only local pickup (lives in NC). Still looking for new tires for the wheels, and I have to figure out how to wire in the universal throttle cable. Any help would be much appreciated.

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Day 3: Throttle cable resolved.....for now....

 

Since it was an overcast and not as hot as the week before I went out and tinkered on the car for a few hours. I received a universal throttle cable from Brad (MR.BOHICA) and used a bike braking cable to wire the throttle. Also found some brackets to hold the cable in place. It would be called "the ratsun way." haha I do need advice for my other issue. The gas pedal is from a 510, but used a linkage setup instead of a cable. So how do I put two and two together? I asked a car guy and he said to get a clamp used for steel cables and make a loop around the ball joint on the end of the gas pedal. That would work, but the gas pedal does not have a spring attached to it. Should I just go and get a 240 or other Nissan gas pedal to install? Any help would be appreciated. Here's a picture of my "ghetto" throttle cable.

 

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She's going to take a lot of work to restore the exterior, but I have plenty of time to fix it. This throttle cable attempt is not getting great reviews by a few of my friends. Might just replace everything in favor of something new. Any suggestions?

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Day 4: 280zx restoration/ coilover conversion

 

Today I ventured out and made some head way on the car. I completed the rear coilover conversion, and only need to have someone weld the pieces together. Also cleaned up the 280zx struts and brakes to give them a "fresh" look. Also ordered more parts to get closer to driving this car soon. Still need a 240 gas pedal and throttle cable. I'm going to start looking on other Nissan forums for partouts. For now, here's some pictures.

 

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Day 5: Coolant rehabilitated

 

With the help of my friend we found out that the lower coolant hose had a puncture, causing most of my newly poured coolant on the ground. Don't worry I did manage to retain the majority of the coolant. Don't want any environmentalists going crazy. lol Simple run to the local auto parts store to get new hoses, and added some water in so the car had a way to keep cool in the heat. When I start to drive the car I will flush the system and get new coolant. My new projected goal of driving this car is the end of August. There is a car show at the local Honda dealership, and usually one or two Nissans come out and always win. Time to show them where these imports originated from. ;)

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